CX Strategies and Management Practices

We know from the points discussed in Chapter 1 that implementing a CX strategy is challenging. CX’s suffers from its broad, holistic definition; it covers an extended time frame, every customer touch point, and both emotional and functional responses. Managers, in order to master this challenge, need to define a clear scope that matches their strategy, and determine an achievable plan to develop it. Given the suggested contextual nature of CX, it is unlikely that researchers will be able to develop a comprehensive and universal guide to CX implementation quickly. Similarly, consultants will not find it easy to develop universal best practices to reduce the risk of failed implementations. The vast majority of scholars exhort managers to do everything they can, based on the unchallenged assumption that only the truly committed and ambitious will succeed (Prahalad & Hamel 1990). However, a large-scale, comprehensive CX program may be beyond the immediate reach of most firms, and may not be considered desirable by all companies on account of their individual strategies. Just think about budget airlines, such as Ryanair, where the customer experience is not considered to be an integral strategic factor. Thus, what is the best approach to master these challenges? First, we need to establish a typology of CX practice based upon how firms actually strategize, practice, and manage their customer experience programs. This typology allows managers to define a level of ambition, scope their efforts, and calibrate their investment accordingly. A typology of CX management is therefore an ideal starting point for firms that want to understand the quality of existing CX practice and plan for CX development systematically.